Presto Experts Online Therapy Review: Legit or Scam?

Are you feeling stuck in a sea of emotional difficulties and finding it hard to cope with them?

Online mental therapy or counseling can easily address your concerns. Mental illnesses are tricky to diagnose, so counseling can play a major role in helping you identify the problem as well as find a long-term solution.

It is important to understand that medication alone cannot resolve your mental issues and emotional distress.

While we cannot deny that prescription-based treatments can do wonders, they must, be utilized if required to remedy your condition adequately. However, therapy goes a long way and helps you with the sustainable management of your mental disorders.

It essentially coaches you to develop survival skills and reduce your dependency on too much medication.

Why is Therapy Crucial?

1 out of 20 American adults suffer from serious mental disorders. And about 40% are successful in receiving effective treatment. But what is concerning is that the majority of the affected population is left either unknowingly ignored or knowingly untreated.

This can have dangerous consequences for the impacted individual, the people around him or her, and society in general.

It may take a lot of guts to seek professional help for mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, painful family issues, relationship problems and so on and so forth. But things are getting easier and more convenient with emerging virtual mental therapy platforms such as BetterHelp, Talkspace, Presto Experts, Regain, etc.

You may get help whenever you want with online therapy and with the least number of geographical barriers. Also, virtual therapy works as it provides a safe space for you to relax and open up about even the most painful problems in your life.

We will be reviewing Presto Experts today in this article.

About Presto Experts

Presto Experts has a wide network of mental health therapists as well as experts providing actionable guidance regarding many other fields such as astrology, business, and 600 more such categories.

It is a platform established by LivePerson in 2013. This online mental therapy category has more than 1500 certified counselors to address your mental health concerns via multiple modes of communication.

Presto Experts has extensive expertise to guide you through a variety of life difficulties, including romantic relationships, personality disorders, general contentment, and professional advancement.

The idea is to be as non-judgmental and objective as possible to assist you in carving out your unique path. This is to get more insights into your mental issues and get the courage to challenge them head-on.

Presto Experts Review

Learn about the Presto Experts, the way it works, its features, merits, demerits, and many more aspects through this impartial review.

1. How Does it Work?

Presto Experts operates differently as compared to the other online therapy providers in the ecosystem.

It works like a consolidated directory of experts having expertise in different domains. And you are required to pick a specific category or area of concern to find the expert based on your needs.

Presto Experts is a platform where you can connect with specialists around the world. You can also seek their opinion on particular questions or advice on general matters.

The company works with a global pool of experts in fields as diverse as business, astrology, psychology, computer science, and more to address your specific inquiries.

After signing up with Presto Experts, the directory of experts will help you zero in on one. A good starting point is to read the reviews left by former customers to be sure you have hired the right professional for the task.

In order to talk to your expert, all you have to do is click on the “Contact Live” button. The initial few minutes are free, and you can spend some time getting to know the expert you have selected. If you think the professional chosen is a good fit for the position, you can click on “Hire” to initiate a paid session through Live chat or phone.

There is a filter on the website to make things even simpler. It helps you sort experts on the basis of a wide range of parameters like cost, online/offline status, ranking, customer reviews, budget range, and so on.

So, it is quite possible that the expert you chose to consult is not online or unavailable temporarily for some reason. In this case, you will get a message telling you to shoot an email requesting help.

You are expected to receive a reply to your email from the expert in about 24 hours.

Scheduling of sessions at Presto Experts

You can set deadlines for your appointments with your experts. Until the expert is hired, you can renegotiate the time set. However, this deadline cannot be changed once the expert is officially hired for consultations.

If your expert is late, he or she may lose some or all of their session fee. As a customer, it makes sense not to engage with busy experts or experts who cannot commit to your deadline. And the same is expected of the specialists to avoid loss of pay due to miscommunication.

Other offerings of Presto Experts

• Finance counseling
• Counseling for students
• Pastoral and religious counseling
• Coping with crisis and physical conditions
• Personal development assistance
• Counseling for effective parenting
• Eating issues and addiction management
• Personality and emotional disorders
• Provision of counselors from the UK and Canada

2. Pricing/Affordability

When it comes to payments, Presto Experts do not have any hidden costing. After pressing the “Hire” button for the expert of your choice, you will always be charged based on the precise number of minutes you spent interacting with your counselor/expert.

A timer at the base of the chat window lets you know how much longer your session has left. The system rounds up to the nearest minute wherever possible.

Once your conversation ends, you will be asked to press the “Quit” button and assess the quality of service of your expert. Your review will help future clients in hiring the most qualified professionals.

Payment for pre-scheduled email sessions will be charged to your credit card only after the consultation is concluded. And you have seen and given the go-ahead to the invoice sent to you by the expert.

The typical cost of consultation ranges from expert to expert or field to field.

However, you are expected to pay from $1 USD to $3 USD every minute. This brings the average weekly cost to $120 USD assuming you communicate with your counselor/expert twice a week for a total of 60 minutes.

You can utilize the “Refuse to pay” button in case you are charged by the expert and have received no service in return. This decision of yours is subject to being overruled by the Presto Experts team if your refusal to pay is unverified/unjustified.

If you are not satisfied with the services, you can request a refund. 

3. Insurance Coverage

Presto Experts does not accept insurance. However, you may be able to get all or a part of the cost of your mental health care covered by your insurance provider. Therefore, it is advisable to check with your insurance company and the type of insurance plan you have opted for.

4. Accessibility

The services offered by Presto Experts are available worldwide. Also, Presto Experts services can be used from a desktop or a mobile device.

However, there are some accessibility concerns as there is no dedicated chat room feature. And the services appear to be more tailored for desktop users. Additionally, Presto Experts does not have a mobile app as of now.

In case of pressing issues or tech support questions, customer support is available to resolve them. You can easily submit a ticket for specific help, responses to which can be expected in 5 business days.

Although there is dedicated customer support, the turnaround time of the Presto Experts team is on the higher side affecting the accessibility of its services.

Another important note on the accessibility front is that you must have a Canadian or a US-based phone number to have phone sessions with your expert.

5. Privacy

Presto Experts ensures the complete security and anonymity of its clients. Also, HIPAA compliance is another condition of its operating license. So, all communications with your experts, including chats and phone conversations, are 100% private.

Your screen name set by your preference is all that the experts are able to see. And your expert/counselor will also not have access to your contact information. 

Both you and your counselor will have access to all of your previous interactions. But nobody has permission to record and save these conversations. 

6. Presto Experts and its Competitors

Presto Experts may not have direct competitors, given its unique pricing and operational model. However, there are some options you can consider for comparison.

Talkspace, for example, provides online therapy starting at $65 USD per week via text, audio, and video messaging. Whereas Online-Therapy.com only has text-based virtual counseling starting at $39 USD per week.

If you think that a subscription service for online therapy is a long-term commitment for you, you can try out Presto Experts.

Moreover, Presto Experts has specialists not just to provide counseling for your mental illnesses but also has experts in counseling you regarding anything and everything under the sun. Therefore, the scope of service is much wider compared to its competitors.

7. Pros and Cons of Presto Experts

Conclusion

Life has a way of throwing us curve balls every once in a while. How well we embrace it matters the most. So, if you are silently putting up with mental problems or other problems, quit enduring and take a step ahead to seek the right advice. 

You might have to muster a lot of courage to find the correct platform for your counseling needs. But all the hard work is worth it. So, I hope this review is useful and will help you finalize your go-to psychotherapy platform. 

In a nutshell, Presto Experts is a legitimate platform for both customers and counselors or instructors. However, the company’s reputation is suffering since a few clients have accused the platform of not thoroughly examining the credentials of its specialists on board. 

So, it is recommended that you vet the profiles of the experts carefully before you pick one. Some complaints point to dissatisfaction after receiving services that cost twice as much as expected or previously discussed. 

Since it is not a scam, you can trust Presto Experts. But it is always better to be a wise customer and evaluate the offerings with careful consideration before proceeding with payment.